Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
1324

At the 1896 Summer Olympics, winners got a silver medal and an olive branch.

The first Olympic Games in 1,500 years featured 241 athletes from 14 nations (all of them men). Most of those athletes came from just four countries: Greece, Germany, France and Great Britain. Compare that to the 2008 Games in Beijing, which feature over 10,000 athletes from 205 nations.
Fittingly, at those first games in Athens, a Greek shepherd named Spyridon Louis won the most popular event and the one with the most historical significance: the marathon.

Tuesday

Fact N°
1325

George W. Bush will be the first president not to have Secret Service protection for life.

For 35 years, from 1962 to 1997, every U.S. president and first lady has been extended a Secret Service detail for life on leaving office. However, legislation enacted by Congress in 1997 limited that protection for 10 years after leaving office, making Clinton the last to enjoy such protection. Thus, in 2019, as the President-elect for 2018 takes over, Secret Service protection for President Bush will end.

Wednesday

Fact N°
1326

The most expensive home in the U.S. once featured a man waking up next to the head of a horse.

The 29-room, 40-bathroom, 75,000-square foot Beverly House was owned by newspaper man William Randolph Hearst. The Mediterranean-style villa was built in 1926 and features six buildings on 65 acres of pricey Beverly Hills land.
The $165 million home was the setting for the famous bloody horse head scene in 1972's The Godfather. It was also used in the Steve Martin classic The Jerk.

Thursday

Fact N°
1327

Southwest Airlines has reported a record 35 consecutive years of profitability.

Founded in 1971, Southwest has always been an innovator in the airline industry, often introducing cost-cutting measures that have allowed them to remain profitable.
Perhaps one of its best policies has been to hedge fuel prices; SWA buys fuel options years in advance at negotiated prices, with the hope that prices go up. When they do, they are able to undercut their competition because they're paying less for progressively more costly fuel than other airlines.

Friday

Fact N°
1328

Since 1964, $1 million has awaited anyone who can show proof of the paranormal.

That year, noted skeptic James Randi first offered anyone $10,000 if they could show objective proof of the paranormal or supernatural. Donations quickly raised the amount to $1 million.
The Foundation offers copies of its financial statement as proof of the existence of the money, and it has repeatedly extended its Paranormal Challenge to high-profile psychics like Sylvia Browne, so far to no avail.

Saturday

Fact N°
1329

At least two important factors differentiate bacon from Canadian bacon.

Joanna Pruess' cookbook, Seduced by Bacon, defines bacon as "meat made from the sides, belly or back of hogs... preserved in salt and sugar or pickled in brine ... then cured or dried" and she goes on to say that Canadian bacon comes from "the meatier loin... when sold it is smoked and fully-cooked."
Thus, not only do the two come from different parts of the hog's body, but real bacon is subject to a lengthy curing or preservation method, whereas Canadian bacon is not.

Sunday

Fact N°
1330

In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was denied a tour of Disneyland.

The Cold War was in full swing when Khrushchev visited the U.S. in September 1959, following Vice President Nixon's visit to the Soviet Union. In addition to visiting Camp David and President Eisenhower's farm, Khrushchev wanted to check out Disneyland, but was told it wouldn't be possible, due to security concerns. Instead, the Premier and his family were treated to lunch at 20th Century Fox Studios while the musical Can Can was being filmed.
Khrushchev was outraged at the denial, wondering aloud sarcastically -- and without making much sense -- "Is there an epidemic of cholera? Or have gangsters taken over the place that can destroy me?"